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Australia refutes Comm games boycott call
Australian Commonwealth Games chief Perry Crosswhite has dismissed calls by swimming great Dawn Fraser for a boycott of the New Delhi Games over security concerns.
Fraser told Thursday's Courier-Mail newspaper that she had grave concerns about terrorism at the Oct. 3-14 event, and would hate to see a repeat of the 1972 Munich Olympics where 11 Israelis were killed by Palestinian terrorists.
"They can't get a hockey venue right, yet they're still expecting everyone to trust them and turn up when they say its all going to be OK," Fraser said.
Crosswhite said Fraser's remarks were ill-informed and was confident "it will be safe and it will be secure."
"I don't think Dawn's been to Delhi recently and I don't think she has the information we have. If she did I don't think she would have made the comments she did," Crosswhite told reporters in Melbourne. "We believe at this stage, it will be safe and it will be secure.
"My personal view is that the Commonwealth Games is not going to be a target."
Fraser won four gold and four silver Olympic medals, set 14 world records and won six Commonwealth Games gold medals in a career which ended after the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
She said she was skeptical about India's assurances on security, given all the delays and missed deadlines when it came to building venues.
"The Indians are telling us that security will be right," Fraser said. "But they've also been telling us for months that their stadiums are ready to go too and quite obviously they're not.
"I know Australia has never boycotted a Commonwealth or Olympic Games, but we're simply being told too many lies. There are now too many question marks for our officials not to consider it.
"I would hate to see another Munich but, with things getting worse and worse, I have grave concerns."
Crosswhite conceded Indian organizers could be better prepared on the building program, but was assured by a report this week from Commonwealth Games Federation chief Mike Fennell's inspection visit to the Indian capital.
"In the next day, they expect to get sign off on the safety issues in buildings and an update on security assessment," Crosswhite said.
The Australian team had asked for the plumbing at all venues to be tested after reports of a dengue fever outbreak which has claimed lives, he said.
